Coffee culture in Jamaica

How to ask for a coffee in the local language?Me need fi full up pon sum kaffee

Signature coffee style?Drip coffee

What to order with your coffee?Meat patty

Don’t:Waste your time searching for hip micro-roasters or latte artists; Jamaica’s best coffee often appears out of beach shacks that look like they’ll blow away in the next hurricane

Jamaica produces the Ferraris of the coffee world. But, rather like the supersonic cars, not a lot of people get to try them. Instead, most of the country’s low-yield, high-end coffee is earmarked for export, with more than 80% of it going to Japan.

Jamaica’s best beans come from the Blue Mountains, whose cobalt slopes rise abruptly behind the steamy capital, Kingston. Here, their growth, harvest and processing is meticulously overseen by the Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica. According to local lore, the coffee’s superior quality is a by-product of the mountains’ damp mists, steep lofty slopes (certified Blue Mountain Coffee must be grown between 3000ft and 5500ft) and excellent drainage. As a result, the coffee cherries mature slowly to ensure a rich, nutty brew that is low in acidity. Above all, Jamaican coffee is wonderfully smooth.

Coffee culture in Jamaica doesn’t enjoy the historical intrigue of Italy or the hipster affiliations of the US. But that’s not to say you can’t find a decent cup here. In fact, Jamaica is one of the few countries in the world where you’ll rarely suffer a bad brew. Cappuccinos aren’t the norm. Rather, locals tend to drink their coffee piping hot out of large ceramic mugs with a little added milk. With Blue Mountain set aside for souvenir-hunting tourists and five-star Tokyo hotels, locals are left to sup on High Mountain, a smooth chocolatey coffee that’s long played second fiddle to the premier blend. Then again, there’s no shame in being runner-up to a Ferrari.

The Twyman family has been responsible for producing some of the world’s best Blue Mountain Coffee for decades. High up in Jamaica’s longest range and reachable by 4WD only, the family’s estate is run by David, the son of late owner Alex, who emigrated to Jamaica from England in 1958 and persevered for a decade to secure a Coffee Board License, which allowed him to sell the beans directly to clients under the coveted ‘Blue Mountain Coffee’trademark. His persistence ensured the bean’s impressive heritage continues; Jamaica’s Blue Mountain Coffee dates back to 1730, when the first Arabica plants were introduced to the island from Saint-Dominque (present-day Haiti).

THINGS TO DO NEARBY

Blue Mountain PeakStarting from Penlyne Castle hamlet, hikers make night-time ascents of Jamaica’s tallest peak. At sunrise on a clear day you can see Cuba.

Strawberry HillSwim in the infinity pool, sample the sumptuous Sunday brunch or relax in the Caribbean-style cottages at this luxury hotel in the foothills of the Blue Mountains.
www.strawberryhillhotel.com

The Twymans make good use of traditional fermentation and sun-drying processes while keeping the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides to a minimum in their single-estate beans. Visitors are welcome by prior arrangement and treated to lessons on coffee growing and production, with a tasting session at the end. The rare peaberry beans grown here are mild-flavoured and prized by coffee connoisseurs. You can buy the Old Tavern Coffee Estate beans directly from the farm or at the Kingston office; the brew itself is served in Kingston’s top restaurants and cafes.

Types of CoffeeAmericano Espresso and hot waterCafe au lait Equal parts brewed coffee and steamed milkCafe mocha Espresso blended with chocolate syrup and topped with steamed milk or microfoamCappuccino One part espresso, one part milk and one part foamCold brew Coffee brewed using water at room temperature or colder. Usually steeped for 10 to 24 hoursCortadoFrom the Spanish verb‘to cut’, a cortado is equal parts espresso and steamed milkCrema A thin and desirable layer of foam found on top of an espressoDoppio Or ‘double’ in Italian. Two shots of espresso pulled through the same filter and served as oneDrip/filter coffee Mechanized brew method using gravity to pull hot water through a bed of coffee grounds and a paper filterEspresso A small, concentrated, syrupy shot of coffee that is achieved when pressure is used to force water through finely ground coffeeFlat white One part espresso to two parts steamed milk/microfoamLatte One part espresso and three or more parts steamed milkLatte art A design made in a drink using steamed milk/microfoamLong black Espresso and hot water, a term popularised in AustraliaLungo Or ‘long’ in Italian. An espresso which is pulled longer or uses more water than a typical shotMacchiato Or ‘marked’ in Italian. Is an espresso topped or – marked – with a small amount of steamed milkNitro cold brew Cold brew coffee infused with nitrogen and served on tap for a thicker, creamier texturePiccolo Similar in espresso-to-milk ratio as the cortado, the piccolo is a drink made popular in AustraliaPour over A manual brew method that uses gravity to pull hot water through coffee grounds and a paper filterRistretto Or ‘restricted’ in Italian. An espresso that is pulled short or uses less water than a typical shotTurkish coffee Brewed in a copper cezve or ibrik, Turkish coffee is unfiltered and made by boiling finely ground coffee beans in water

Technical TermsArabica Originally from Ethiopia, Coffea arabica is the world’s most desired species of coffee plantBlend When different coffees from different origins are mixed together to achieve a specific flavour profileBrew ratio The proportion of coffee grounds to water used when brewingCoffee cherry The fruit surrounding the coffee bean or seedCupping A method of coffee tasting used to determine quality, flavour attributes, and potential defectsCup score A system of evaluating arabica coffee by assessing aroma, flavour, aftertaste, acidity, body, balance, sweetness, cleanliness, uniformity and defect each on a scale of 1-10. Coffees receive a total cup score out of 100Green coffee After picking, processing, drying and before roasting, coffee seeds are known as green coffeeMicrofoam When milk is steamed to a texture consisting of tiny bubblesNatural/dry process Picked cherries are set out to dry naturally on raised beds or patios. As the fruit dries it imparts fruity flavours into the beanPulped natural or honey process After cherries are picked the skins are removed and beans are dried on bedswith their sticky outer layer intactRobusta Robusta or Coffea canephora is a species of coffee that is lessdesirable in flavour than arabica, hasmore caffeine, and is easier to growSingle origin Coffee sourced from one geographic growing region which usually reflects the flavour attributes produced by a particular terroirSpeciality coffee Any coffee that achieves a cup score of 80 and aboveThird wave Describes the overall trend of cafes and purveyors that source, prepare and serve speciality coffeeWashed or wet processing Picked cherries are hulled and put into fermentation tanks to remove the sticky outer layer. The beans are then washed before being set out to dry